“With that knowledge comes some responsibility; we want to take some action,” said Councilman Steven Schabot, D-Ward 8. “I don’t want to see my kids and grandchildren inheriting flooding on the waterfront.”

Relocation of the municipal sewage treatment plant is the main problem facing Kingston’s waterfront, according to the final report. Twenty-four general suggestions comprise the group’s recommendations.

The three main approaches are to do nothing, relocate the waterfront, or adapt to rising water levels.

Kingston is developing a new comprehensive plan for 2025 – the first in 50 years -- which will incorporate ideas from the flooding task force report.

In the future, all new projects constructed downtown will be required to take flooding into consideration. The new Clearwater Home Port building, for example, is designed to withstand periodic inundation.

Other solutions range from expensive, such as raising the waterfront bulkhead or building a seawall, to unconventional, such as putting all the important buildings up on stilts.

One resident suggested taking high ground across the creek in nearby Port Ewen.

Reduction of greenhouse gases, better stormwater management, and public education campaigns are some of the steps that can be taken immediately.